Lighter-than-air (LTA) platforms and devices have traditionally been used for gathering weather data the in upper atmosphere and generally, have been designed for short duration flights to provide a snapshot of weather data over the flight duration. In general, the LTA platform includes an unmanned ballooncraft that carries a LTA gas enclosure (balloon) and a payload. The payload, typically, provides the data gathering and processing capabilities. The durations of flights for LTA platforms including ascents and descents have been limited by technology and designs for the LTA gas enclosures which need to sustain low pressures in the upper atmosphere. As the technology and designs for LTA gas enclosures have improved, the flight durations have increased significantly. Rates of ascent and/or descent of these LTA platforms can be controlled and so also their altitude. Thus, it is possible to keep an LTA platform at a particular height in the upper atmosphere over long periods of time—days and even months.
These capabilities for flying and maintaining the flights of LTA platforms has led to other uses for such platforms including providing surveillance and/or communications services using one or more of such LTA platforms held in sustained flights at a desired altitude. With sustained flights for LTA platforms, however, come possibilities of collisions with powered aircrafts that may carry passengers. Such collisions can be hazardous and may result, in extreme cases, loss of life and valuable property. It is therefore, important to provide systems and methods that can minimize the possibility of hazardous collision between an LTA platform and a powered aircraft in shared airspace.